Chapter Text
Christmas Eve, 1996, Villeverde Cemetary, Madrid.
Two lone, slim figures were standing above a fresh grave, one dressed in a long, black coat, the other one in an old denim jacket, shivering slightly because the evening was cold, and because there were still tears running down his cheeks.
"Was there anything in the will?"
"Savings. She left me some savings."
"Good. If you need anything, come to me."
"Will do. Thanks."
The one with the denim jacket still had a face of a young boy, thin and pale, his brown eyes glistening either with tears, fever or determination.
The other one, slightly older, put his collar up against the wind which was tearing at his dark locks.
"Are you really disappearing?" he asked, rubbing his hands together.
"Yes."
"Will you help me if I get in trouble, though?"
"Are you planning on getting in trouble?" the younger boy took off his glasses and put them in his pocket, sniffling slightly.
"Maybe," his companion answered with a half-smile. "Don't you think that Gabriela deserves a nice engagement ring? I'm thinking the family one. I know where my father keeps it."
"Engagement?" he demanded, tears replaced by a deep frown.
His expression, which seemed to be screaming: 'why on earth would you do that?', was met with a light chuckle as the other man embraced him and turned around to head towards the cemetary gate.
"Stop being such a bore!"
They took only a few steps before the gentleman in the black coat stopped in his tracks and looked up, blinking. Then, a wide smile appeared on his face.
"Look, Sergio. It's snowing."
Christmas Eve, 1996, Villa 31, Buenos Aires.
When the night fell on the other side of the ocean, it was dark, humid and unbearably hot.
In the neighborhood, the sounds of car alarms, rolling trains and people screaming at each other in the slums turned into an awful cacophony.
One yell was particularily loud and thunderous.
"Come back here, pequeño maricón!" a man screamed from the doorway as a scrawny looking teenager disappeared in the usual crowd of poor, miserable people.
He was running as fast as he could, panting, holding onto a duffel bag, until he reached the train station, sprinted downstairs and jumped into a subway car.
He found a place to sit down and stared at his reflection in the window. A smile crept up onto his face, a smile of joy coloured with a little bit of madness.
When he decided that he was so far away from home that he felt safe, he jumped out of the car and once again disappeared somewhere in the city.